Hey everyone, I own a 2014 JD 1025r with a 54″ drive-over deck, and while the tractor has served me well, the mower deck has been a major headache. Since there’s no middle front roller, anytime the ground isn’t perfectly level, it ends up digging into the lawn, which is so frustrating. My main problem came when I had to replace the old center PTO carriage because the original one broke due to its poor design. The new parts seem much sturdier. However, after getting the PTO fixed, the tractor started scalping the lawn badly, even when I had the height set to its maximum. The dealership sent someone over to check it out, and while he mentioned the deck was slightly off-level, he also tried mowing a section of my lawn and confirmed it was still scalping. He suggested lowering the cutting height, but I don’t like cutting the grass too short because it can damage the lawn. I contacted the dealer again, and they picked up the tractor to fix it in the shop. A week later, they returned it, but the scalping issue persists, though it’s not as severe as before. This has never happened in the nine years I’ve had the tractor, and I’m unsure what to think. They want to take it back again, but I’m starting to doubt whether they really know what the issue is. Has anyone else encountered something similar with a 1025r and a 54″ deck?
If I had known back then what I know now, I definitely wouldn’t have bought the 60″ auto connect deck. Instead, I would have opted for a separate lawn mower. The auto connect deck has been a real hassle, and it’s not cheap either. It doesn’t lift high enough, has too many parts that can go wrong, and easily falls out of alignment.
The 60″ deck on my old Kubota BX2230 was far superior to the JD deck. I had it for 16 years without a single issue. While I like most things about my 1025R, the mower deck is a big disappointment. On the other hand, the Frontier root grapple is amazing, and being able to remove the FEL easily is super convenient. The iMatch three-point hitch is great, too. By contrast, taking off the Kubota’s FEL was much harder. Also, the 1025R feels more prone to tipping than the BX2230, so I have to stay more alert when using it, which wasn’t a concern with the Kubota.
The Kubota dealership near my house wasn’t great either. The owner, his son, and the salesman were difficult to deal with, like they were doing me a favor just by helping. The salesman never followed through on things we had discussed. At least the parts and service guys were good, but that shop has a bad reputation locally.
The John Deere dealership is about 10-12 miles from my house, and my buying experience there was outstanding. They were super attentive to my needs as a first-time buyer and even gave me free stuff like hats, a ballast box, extra keys, and caps. The guy who sold me the tractor was very helpful, though he has since left, so I’ll have to see how things go from here.
Oh, and don’t get me started on the Kubota salesman who lowballed me on my trade-in! Total rip-off. I put my Kubota on Facebook Marketplace that same afternoon, got over 20 serious offers by 3 p.m., and sold it that night for almost three times what the Kubota dealer offered me. Ridiculous! The next day, I took that money and finalized the purchase of my JD1025R, and I have no regrets.
